What we have before our eyes is NGC 1999, a reflection nebula located about 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion that shines with the light of the variable star V380 Orionis and is the closest region of massive star formation to the earth.
The recent image of this reflection nebula captured by Hubble could not be more spooky (in keeping with the celebration of the Halloween party).
Known as Ced 55i, DG 60, or LBN 979, this nebula was discovered on October 5, 1785 by German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
What does the nebula contain?
” NGC 1999 itself is a relic of recent star formation: it ‘s made up of debris left over from the formation of a newborn star. Like fog curling around a streetlight, reflection nebulae like NGC 1999 they only shine due to light from an embedded source. In the case of NGC 1999, this source is the aforementioned newborn star V380 Orionis, which is visible in the center of this image. However, the most notable aspect of the appearance of NGC 1999 is the conspicuous hole at its center, which resembles an inky-black keyhole of cosmic proportions ,” the Hubble astronomers said.
The image, which was created from several separate exposures from Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, dates from shortly after Servicing Mission 3A in 1999. Thanks to new observations, scientists discovered that the dark spot at the center of the nebula was not a cold, dense cloud of gas, but merely an empty region of space; an empty hole in the nebula.
“The origin of this unexplained crack at the heart of NGC 1999 remains unknown ,” the experts conclude.
Reference: NASA ESA Hubble Space Telescope / NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / K. Noll.
